Disney taps ‘Safety’ duo for ‘Navigator’ rewrite

Being developed as potential directing vehicle for Colin Trevorrow

Two of Sundance 2012’s breakout stars are preparing for another adventure, as the “Safety Not Guaranteed” team of Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly have been hired to rewrite Disney’s “Flight of the Navigator” remake, which will be developed with as a potential directing vehicle for Trevorrow.

Directed by Randal Kleiser, the original 1986 sci-fi pic followed a 12 year-old boy who goes missing and reappears eight years later having not aged a day. At the same time, an alien spacecraft crashes nearby, which may explain the boy’s disappearance.

Joey Cramer starred in the original alongside Veronica Cartwright and Sarah Jessica Parker, while Paul Reubens provided the voice of the flying saucer’s pilot. Brad Copeland (“Arrested Development”) was hired to pen the first draft of the remake in May 2009.

“‘Flight of the Navigator’ wasn’t a seminal movie of my childhood but I remember liking it and the original meant a lot to Colin as a kid, so it’s really his baby. It’ll be good to have some balance so it’s not two fanboys writing the movie,” Connolly told Variety.

Disney is already in business with Trevorrow and Connolly, who recently sold the studio an untitled project that will be produced by Temple Hill (“The Twilight Saga”). Trevorrow is attached to direct the pic, which is keeping its logline under wraps.

Trevorrow directed “Safety Not Guaranteed” from a script by fellow producer Connolly, who won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance, where the film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Duo were just nominated for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards. They’re also due to reteam with Big Beach for “Intelligent Life,” formerly titled “The Ambassador,” which Trevorrow will direct from a script he co-wrote with Connolly, who’s currently writing a project for Pixar.